


Bearers

by ShaeLynn



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Adultery, Aftermath of Violence, Domestic Violence, M/M, Miscarriage, Sexual Violence, Trials
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-05 22:46:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5393090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShaeLynn/pseuds/ShaeLynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are few dwarrowdams in the mountains and there are even fewer men whom were blessed with the ability to bear young.  Bearers, both male and female, are nearly always married off by the time they are of age so as to continue their dying race, but they have little say in the matches made.  Not many crimes can make a dwarrow an outcast as punishment, but Adultery is one of them.  That doesn't stop many from taking the path to achieve some peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own or I would no longer work in retail. Flames will be fed to the dragons in my bed, they're sick of the flying ants.

Nori carefully eased himself to the edge of the worn bed, mindful of the bruises and other aches he had. Before he stood a light hand brushed over his bare back, bringing his attention to the dwarf still lying in the bed behind him. He gave the younger dwarf a fond grin and leaned back to brush their lips together. Further shifting reminded him of why he was there in the first place and he drew back with a hiss.

“Alright, Nori?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I need to go though. Any longer and it’ll look too suspicious.”

The other frowned, “Still got that THING he wanted this time?”

Nori scowled in response before he let out a deep breath, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Yeah, I’ve got it.”

“Least he can’t be upset you failed to bring him it.”

“No, but he’ll find some other reason to beat me, he always does.”

“Nori… Be careful, please.”

“I will, love. I will,” Nori smiled before he left, playfully swiping the fur hat from the bedpost, ignoring his lover’s indignant shout, but leaving it on the inside of the room, hanging from the wrought iron handle, as he left the safety there.

^^^^^

Bofur was by his brother’s for breakfast a day and a half after he had last seen his lover, focusing on his family as he always did to keep the worry from overwhelming him. It was a good day for his cousin as well, no distance in his eyes and no pain bringing creases to the corners of his mouth. His young niece, barely five years old, was deciding she should wear her oatmeal rather than eat it, causing Bofur to laugh outrageously when a knock sounded on the door. He went to inquire at their visitor while the rest of the family tried in vain to prevent a mess, but he was not prepared for the dwarf at the door to be the Captain of the City Guard.

“You have been summoned to face the King in court, Bofur of the Broadbeams. Will you come quietly?”

Bofur swallowed and nodded, “Allow me to inform my brother, please.”

Dwalin nodded and watched with narrowed eyes as Bofur quickly spoke with Bombur and returned to the entryway. Closing the door behind him, Bofur preceded the Captain, following another of the City Guard that was unseen before. There was nothing Bofur could think of to warrant being brought to court for unless his lover had been discovered.

There were few crimes in dwarrow society that were worse than adultery and his lover was married already. All bearers were sold off by their fortieth year to whomever presented the best station and talked sweetly enough to the family. Few ever went into good situations and some were worse than other. His brother’s wife had no family to make arrangements for her so she was allowed to choose on her own. His lover had not been so fortunate. Knowing what his husband did to him and the scars Nori bore from their intimacies, Bofur was only too happy to ignore the crime they were committing, though they never had penetration due to those same scars.

His thoughts took Bofur all the way to the King’s offices and he held his head high as he was escorted into the throne room, cautiously looking around for Nori. The red haired dwarf was nowhere to be seen and Bofur let out a light breath, but he had no other reason why he would be brought before the King.

“Bofur of the Broadbeams, do you recall your activities two nights past?”

Bofur only took a moment before he responded, “Yes, sire. I was in my home that evening and night until my shift in the mines the next morning.”

“Do you have an alibi or someone whom can prove your location and activities?”

Bofur thought hard, he remembered that night well, it being the evening Nori had come to him last, fingers on his right hand broken and more bruises from his husband after he had failed to acquire whatever object the Lord wanted stolen. He refused to pull Nori’s reputation into question though, not wanting his lover to be shaved and ostracized for adultery.

“No, sire, there is no one to confirm where I was that night.”

“Then in two days, you will be tried for the murder of Runal of the Ironfists two nights prior to this day. Any evidence to prove your innocence will be accepted until such time.”

^^^^^

“Bofur!” Ori hissed into the cell, keeping his voice quiet enough to not be overheard by the guard at the entrance to the row of cells.

The miner came forward, “What are you doing here?” He was well aware Ori was his lover’s younger brother, the only non-bearer of the three and the only other to know of Nori and his relationship. Just as they knew he had begun to offer comfort to another bearer whom was learning how horrible that fate could make a dwarf’s future.

“I’m to take any messages you would like out to family. They will be read, of course, anything I write down,” Ori answered, holding out a writing tablet with parchment stuck to the wooden frame, inkwell tightly closed beside it.

“Write my brother that I’m to be tried for a murder I didn’t commit. But there’s no evidence to prove my innocence. There’s nothing they can do about it anyway.” He waited until Ori had finished transcribing and he’d signed the bottom before he continued with his messages. “And you tell him… tell him that I will not ruin his life. And he’s not to come here to see me for any reason. I love him. I love him so much and I will give my life for him.”

Ori nodded, knowing the message had to come from him and not some paper. It would also be safer for all of them to keep quiet about the two lovers. Ori left quietly with a nod, keeping his own council on how he thought his brother would react at the news.

When Ori reached his brother’s home the next morning, it was to find the Lord gone for business and Nori confined to bed with ‘illness’. Ori knew what they really meant so ignored every protest from the servants. Nori’s room had always disturbed Ori, not because of what it was decorated with, but because those decorations were so far from what Nori would have chosen for himself. And he was not allowed to change any of it. They waited until the servants had reluctantly left the room at Nori’s orders before the brothers spoke.

“What has happened, Ori?”

“What was his reasoning this time, first.”

“He found out… about him.”

“I thought that might be the case since he is sitting in prison on a murder charge from three nights ago.”

“What!? Why hasn’t he told them where he was?”

“He said he would not ruin your life and asked you not to come see him there for any reason. He is fully prepared to die for you, Nori.”

Nori fumed for a few minutes, his thoughts turning in his head before his face set with determination and anger. “He may not choose to ruin my life, but there’s nothing stopping me from doing so. I will not live without him, not anymore. I never thought I’d be able to find love, but now… He’s the only reason I have not killed myself, Ori,” he said apologetically.

“I know, brother, and I thought that would be your reaction which is why I didn’t tell you last night already. Tomorrow the sentence will be carried out. Will you be well enough to go in this morning?” Ori watched as the other shifted in the bed, a few grimaces crossing Nori’s face as he tested his limbs.

“Yes. Self-sacrificing idiot, what did he think would happen to me with him gone.”

^^^^^

Ori got his brother into the palace and to the throne room doors before leaving hastily to his own position of scrivener in Balin’s office.

Nori stood tall, his many layers allowing him to hide that he was favoring his right side and the long sleeves covering the worst of the bruising. He pushed the door open with his left hand and strode in, ignoring the glare immediately sent towards him from the Captain of the City Guard.

“What can I help you with today?” Thorin asked calmly from the center chair on the small wooden dais in the room.

“I have come to see Bofur of the Broadbeams released from prison. He has committed no murder.”

The quiet discussions in the room stopped at the declaration, but Nori ignored the stares now aimed at him from the handful of others there, including his older brother’s husband and Ori’s Craft Master.

“Were you witness to the murder?”

“No, but I can tell you where Bofur was three nights ago from dusk until shortly before dawn, in his room, asleep.”

Thorin leaned forward in his chair. He knew the man in front of him only because he had been at Ori’s apprenticeship acceptance standing with Balin’s husband. He’d also heard a great many of his exploits which landed him within the prisons as well from his cousin Dwalin, Captain of the City Guard.

“How are you certain he was there all night?”

“Because I was lying beside him and I am a very light sleeper.”

“Not just a thief, but a cuckolding whore as well,” Dwalin snapped out gruffly.

Nori flinched slightly at the insult, stiffening further, having listened to his husband call him a whore for decades as he forced his way into Nori’s unwilling body. “Call Bofur in if you don’t believe me.”

Thorin nodded to Dwalin whom left towards the dungeons. Nori refused to fidget at all with the accusing stares at him and made every effort not to glance at the one he knew would not be accusing or judging him for his crime. Adultery was such a horrible thing for dwarrow to contemplate it ranked just below murder in severity. But the courts never seemed to care about the fate a bearer went through and bearers always taught each other what to be careful saying when they made a poor match. There were too many bearers whom had died for trying to get help for themselves, too many whom never had the chance to get help of some kind.

Nori did meet the Lady Dis’ eyes though for a full minute, understanding passed to a small degree between them, surprising the thief. It was a well-known she had been given leave to find her own match, decades after most her age had already been paired off. He had expected condemnation or at least disgust to a degree, but there was only understanding there. Her eyes flicked in the direction of her youngest son, causing Nori to twitch as he forced himself not to look with her. When she turned back, Nori knew she was aware of her son’s own indiscretions with Nori’s young brother, but said nothing about it.

It had Nori standing just a bit straighter, a bit more defiantly in front of the court, determined to be an example of some kind to other bearers, in whatever capacity he could, whether to keep them further from speaking up, or to bring them into the open.

A quarter of an hour passed before Dwalin returned, Bofur trailing after him, free of any bindings. He frowned heavily when he saw Nori, striding up to his side with all his concentration on the other’s lean body. Nori met his eyes openly before searching for any injuries on his lover, thankful when he found nothing but dirt and dust.

“I told you not to come, Nori.” Bofur’s face was only full of concern when he reached the other’s side, everyone there easily seeing it before he turned to Thorin. “Sire, before any trial can continue, if you please, he needs medical attention.”

“I’m fine,” Nori said just before Bofur placed a hand lightly on his right side, even that slight extra pressure on the cracked ribs having his face twitch heavily before he could hide it.

“Nori, please, if you’re going to destroy your reputation for the likes of me, destroy the cause of this mess as well. Don’t let him escape without some kind of punishment.”

Their eyes locked for a moment before Nori slowly brought his hands up to begin unhooking his jacket, each of the metal toggles slipping easily through their holes. He was half way down, revealing the top of his vest and tunic underneath, both laced up fully, when he noticed one of those near Thorin step down and approach him.

“Let me see your hand, boy,” the other said quietly, noting the twitch his eyes gave at the address.

Reluctantly Nori brought his hand away from the toggles, recognizing the dwarf now he was closer as the King’s cousin and a healer. He knew what Oin was looking at so didn’t flinch when his hand was taken and turned, revealing the black bruising covering the far side, starting at the tips of his last two curled fingers. Thorin and Dwalin had stepped down as well to more clearly see what Oin had spotted, Balin joining them a moment later.

Nori’s eyes never left Oin’s as the healer slowly straightened the fingers carefully, testing the depths of the injury Nori’s face scrunched in pain and he took a slow deep breath through his nose, the pain of his hand overriding the pain of his ribs. Bofur had a hand on his shoulder in silent support, watching Nori’s hand with regret.

Thorin and Dwalin shared a look between them. They knew the only reason they would likely react the same was the numerous injuries they had obtained over the years, both in training and on the battlefield. Nori was a bearer though, a married one. He would never have seen battle, though he still reacted to the pain as if he was overly familiar with its depths. The thief had given no signs of injury when he walked in, but Thorin and Dwalin were certain he might really need medical attention. Balin’s hand on his shoulder and the cold look in his eyes told the King the same thoughts were on his advisor’s own mind.

“How long have these been broken?” Oin asked, having felt the shifting of the bones in some places, but not in others, telling him they had already begun to heal wrong.

“About four days.”

“That would mean after you were bailed out of my jail by your husband,” Dwalin growled out lowly.

Nori’s eye twitched again, more obviously this time and his jaw clenched, eyes flashing in anger. Dwalin could feel a cold knot forming in his chest, wishing he had paid more attention to the thief’s interactions with his husband rather than just the words the other dwarf spoke every time he came to get Nori.

“Let me see the rest, lad,” Oin requested this time.

The healer still had hold of Nori’s’ hand so he began to finish opening his coat one handed, unconsciously telling the dwarrow around him how skilled he was at only being able to use one hand for the task. When it was hanging open, Bofur carefully helped to pull the jacket from his shoulders, dropping it over one arm as Nori started unlacing his vest, a somewhat unusual garment for a dwarf. With the jacket off, the court could begin to see the slight curl of Nori’s torso where he favored the ribs on his right. Then the vest was gone and bruises could be seen as he unlaced his tunic, refusing to remove it entirely. There were scars standing out brightly amidst the mottled bruising, some definitely older than others, and none appearing accidental.

“Did he take—” Bofur began quietly, stopping at Nori’s nod.

“Always.”

Bofur stepped closer to the healer, speaking quietly at his ear so no one else heard. Oin’s eyes widened and he looked at Nori with new respect, “Lad, you shouldn’t be standing.”

They all saw the stubborn set to Nori’s jaw increase as his eyes narrowed slightly. Thorin stepped forward then, taking the room’s attention back to himself.

“Why have you not brought this to anyone’s attention? If this is ongoing and deliberate, the one assaulting you would have been brought before the courts already.”

Nori barked out a harsh laugh and saw the bearing prince step beside his mother. “Every married bearer knows how untrue that is. You think I’m the only one out there suffering for what I am? Few bearers have the luck to be in a match where they can be content with life.” Nori stared at Balin, knowing his older brother’s husband would pay attention.

“You would accuse your husband of such a deed? With how he laments of taking you in to provide—“

“He took me in because I’m a bearer!” Nori shouted, his eyes flashing with anger and a snarl on his face as he took a step toward the Captain. “The only thing he wants is young, but I can’t—Nori cut himself off, arms unconsciously wrapping over his stomach as his words became disjointed, his voice quieter, and his expression turned from anger to forlorn as it crumpled. “I’ve never been able to conceive since—I couldn’t carry—I wasn’t good enough to—I can’t—“

Tears were visible in Nori’s eyes by the end, his body curled inwards slightly, focus distant. Bofur stepped up and wrapped his arms around him, shielding his tears from the others as they began to fall. He turned his attention over to Dwalin, a frown on his usually smiling face.

“You know him only as a thief, but it wasn’t his choice, not when his husband forced him to do so. The first time he failed in taking something and was caught by the City Guard, he was carrying. His husband has always beaten him when he failed. After his husband bailed him out, his punishment forced Nori to lose the babe and he’s never managed to carry since. No matter how many times the Lord forces his attentions on him.”

“If you have been his lover, how can we know the damage is not from you?” Thorin asked neutrally, not believing that was the case, but having to ask due to the accusation.

Nori growled and pushed past Bofur slightly, teeth bared at the King, despite the tear tracks on his face. His lean body was coiled, ready to fight regardless of his injuries, at the slander against the one dwarf to even try to help him, no matter how the two went about it.

“Nori, lad, it is a question required to be asked, not because any of us believe it could be true,” Balin quickly soothed, knowing that he still got some of his brother’s unusual strength.

“It happened years before I met Nori and we have not lain together that way. I will swear as much at Mahal’s great altar.”

Nori growled slightly, “Forget about the medical attention or why I’ve done this. Pass your judgement and let us go on our way.”

Thorin looked between the two of them, Nori once again standing defiantly in front of him, daring him to sentence the punishment he should use given the crime. All that defiance was ignored though as Thorin’s eyes caught again on the bruises and scarring covering Nori’s torso through the still open tunic. He glanced to Bofur, the miner knowing how to handle the other’s injuries, giving the smaller dwarf strength and Nori’s almost unseen grip on the miner’s sleeve. Neither revealed fear nor shame for what they had done, but Nori’s grip easily showed his fear of Bofur being taken away from him, as though his coming forward so injured didn’t already reveal that. He glanced to Dwalin whom gave him a long blink, his opinion shared in the simple gesture. A look to Balin showed him which hand the dwarf was stroking his beard with, his own opinion shared. Thorin turned and looked at his sister, a slight tilt to the head giving him her answer as well, Kili holding tightly to her hand at his mother’s side.

“It is decided then.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The settlement was abuzz for two days at the King’s calling of all bearers to assemble with their children and with or without their spouses. Word had already gone around of Nori and Bofur being punished, though the reasoning for why they were punished had never been mentioned. Every bearer was worried on what the meeting was about, many of them having known Nori well, and some still heavily concerned for Nori’s continued absence since it was known his husband had returned to the settlement nearly two months prior and had not been seen since.

When all the bearers seemed to be assembled, Thorin stepped out onto the low stage where his throne was usually placed, absent for the meeting. His face gave nothing away as he looked out over those gathered, seeing many of them holding their forms stiffly as Nori had done the morning he came to free Bofur. Nearly half of them had visible injuries on their faces; bruises, a few cuts, and a couple dams had their hands hidden within the folds of their gowns, much as Nori had hidden his broken fingers. Thorin also noted the many dwarrow with a hand conveniently wrapped about an arm or a waist proprietarily. There were a few he could see that were gently holding hands with the bearer next to them and it gave Thorin hope.

“A grievous crime has been committed within these lands, one which was only recently brought to my attention. No one here is on trial, nor should they be afraid to act as necessary. I have called you here to right a wrong I did not know existed.” Thorin could see how much more attention he was being given and how fear was slowly being replaced by hope in many of the bearers’ eyes. He gestured to the open floor space in front of the stage where Guards stood to form a barrier, “I call to the front every bearer to have found themselves in a gilded mine or cavern with any child they have borne.”

There was silence for several long minutes as many in the assemblage shifted. Thorin waited, patient, he’d been warned it would not happen immediately, that the bearers to answer would need to think over the request and what he could want them for. Then, a dam took a step forward, away from her spouse whose grasp on her arm tightened.

“Where are you going?” the dwarf growled.

“The King has made a command and I am one of them he speaks of,” the dam answered calmly, the five dwarrowlings with her crowded close together and inching away from the dwarf.

Reluctantly he released her arm and she stepped forward, walking between the Guards as if they didn’t exist, her young behind her. She met the King’s eyes openly, head held high as though in challenge. As they came closer to the stage, he was horrified to see bruises on the elder dwarrowlings as well as the full bloomed bruise across the dam’s cheek, his face revealing nothing of his thoughts.

It was only a handful of breaths after she stopped before another dam stepped out, this one without children. Then a male bearer came forward, one hand hidden in his tunic and a very young dwarf at his side, holding his hand tightly. There were some dams and male bearers gently pulling their spouses away from the stage, gathering together near one side. They showed how content they were with their partner openly, gently quieting any questions with light touches and a few wrapped themselves in their partner’s arms.

The trickling of bearers into the open space near the stage had steadied somewhat, a slow constant stream of bearers and young came through between the Guards, condensing into groups which obviously knew each other well. Once the separation had ended, Thorin found nearly a third of those gathered crowded into the space before the stage, some watching him, some warily watching the dwarrow outside the ring of Guards, roughly a hundred bearers total.

With a nod, Dwalin tapped a Guard on the shoulder, the motion passing through the rest and the Guards moved out slightly, giving those near the stage more space and forming a tighter protective barrier around them. Then, there was movement to Thorin’s left where his sister and her sons stood. Kili hesitantly stepped forward and off the stage, his worried eyes on Thorin’s face. The Kings’ eyes widened in shock and he looked out towards the group of bearers whom hadn’t come forward. There were barely a dozen couples standing together, the bearers now clutching onto their partners in some fashion.

“How many of you have found comfort for your ills?” Thorin asked around a tight throat, his eyes coming to rest on Kili again.

There was a quiet shuffling sound and Thorin looked out seeing beyond the row of Guards. Nearly half of those left outside the barriers were shifting. As he watched, he noted many of them watching a particular bearer, gazes filled with worry and concern. Then, one young dam quietly called out a name and a dwarf stepped forward, his gaze soft as he looked on the dam. Thorin motioned the dwarf closer and he slipped between the Guards, coming to stand at the dam’s side, a hand just brushing against hers. Other bearers began to call out names while some simply held out a hand, all their gazes locked on a single dwarf. Two of the Guards had stretched out a hand behind them with bearers coming near to take hold.

Thorin’s attention was again brought to the stage, this time to the other side where Balin stood with his husband and Ori, Oin next to them, cataloging every injury he could see. It was Ori whom moved forward, slipping out from Dori’s cautious hold and stepping down from the stage. With a glance at this older brother, he moved to Kili’s side, wrapping an arm around his back to pull him closer.

The spouses only then seemed to realize what the dwarrows stepping forward meant. As the shouting began, the ones with bearers still near them pulled their partners even further away to prevent any harm coming to them. The cuckolded spouses began to move forward, trying to get through the Guards to their spouses, some issuing shouted threats despite being in the presence of the King and members of his deciding court.

Some of the bearers stood defiantly against the threats, but most of them cringed back towards the stage, hiding their children behind them. The dwarrow they had committed adultery with stood in front of them or beside them, helping to shield the children.

“Dwalin!” Thorin spoke sharply.

“Enough!” the Captain shouted over the din, “Take them away!”

The bearers and their lovers clung tightly together, believing it was themselves whom were to be punished, but the Guards never moved inwards, instead, coming out to encircle the enraged dwarrow. They were detained and those whom resisted were dragged off like common criminals, a dozen Guards remaining, several of whom joined the bearer they loved.

“You all know how this crime is treated, how serious it is, and that every one of you admitted to it that have found comfort. I ask you truthfully, without fear of reprisal, have any of you been happy with your spouses? Any time at all in your marriage?” Only those separated with their spouses gave assent. Thorin turned to his nephew then, confusion in his eyes, “Kili, you have not even married yet.”

The young dwarf shifted nervously, a glance at Ori beside him giving the courage to answer, “Such has not stopped him from… teaching me my place.”

Then the young dam whom had first called out a lover’s name came forward, her belly growing large with child, “I have not yet married either, sire, but my intended is not concerned with that technicality and my father has allowed it.”

“How old are you?”

“Barely 60, my King.”

Thorin restrained himself to single deep breath at the age. A bearer could not marry until they were 64, and even then many recommended waiting another couple years to prevent any serious complications from childbirth. Balin came up to stand at Thorin’s side, clearing his throat gently.

“Though your admittance of adultery is a serious offense, it has revealed a crime which the council has agreed is a far worse crime, driving you to seek comfort and help in the only way you had.” Thorin took a step back and motioned at the back of the stage.

As the two figures hidden there stepped out and forward, Thorin noted Dwalin looking away for a moment to compose himself before bringing his gaze back to them, regret visible on his face. The King felt just as much sympathy for his cousin as he did for all those still in the hall, not able to even imagine how horrifying it had been for the Captain to enter the home Nori lived in and see what was done to him.

_Nori went alone to the house at night to fetch his things a few days after coming for Bofur, just the items he could truthfully call his own, a paltry amount in comparison to most dwarrow. The council knew he had left, Bofur having left as well for necessary items since they were asked to stay in rooms at the palace until Thorin could call the meeting. Bofur came running back looking for Dwalin less than a half hour later. Nori’s husband had returned since that morning and Nori was walking into his home without such knowledge._

_The Captain had several Guards whom knew Nori from the prison accompany them quietly through the night, wanting to simply ensure Nori received no further injuries, but no scars he already bore prepared the City Guards for what they encountered. The first thing they heard on entering the home was an educated voice sneering that if someone was going to act like a whore, they would be treated like one under his employ._

_There were muffled shouts and pained cries and laughter from several different voices which echoed about the room, making it hard to pinpoint which hallway they were coming from. A servant appeared and pointed down a specific hall before leaving their sight quickly, a packed bag already in hand. The group ran down the hall without question and burst through a partially opened door. It was only Bofur’s shout of his lover’s name which sent the Guards into action from the shock._

_Dwalin himself went to help Nori, throwing the dwarrow forcing himself into the thief against a wall as Bofur punched the one in front of Nori, his cock blocking any sound from the bearer’s mouth. The other Guards had gone to the remaining dwarrow in the room, pinning each of them down and trying not to stare._

_As soon as his assailants were gone, Nori was coughing and gasping, curling his limbs up underneath him to move or stand. His right arm was visibly broken, a lump standing out on his upper arm and a thin bone showing through a tear in the skin of his forearm. His left ankle was bruised black as was his left side and his right eye was already swollen shut._

_Even with all his injuries, Nori was still fighting as Bofur knelt on the floor trying to calm him, lashing out at his lover like he was one of his assailants, until Bofur dragged Nori’s uninjured hand to the fur hat he wore. The thief clutched onto it and all his fight left him, trembling on the floor of the room. Dwalin gently laid his cloak over the other’s partially nude form, Nori’s clothing shredded and torn half off from the attack. He began sobbing and every Guard looked away as Bofur carefully pulled him close, petting his head with soothing words._

_Then Nori’s husband, lost in his anger, confessed to setting Bofur up for murder, wanting to completely break Nori. Dwalin ordered the dwarf to the dungeons and picked Nori up himself to get him to Oin. As soon as they reached the healing wing of the palace, Nori wrapped his arms around him stomach with a pained cry, eyes wide with terror. Oin ordered everyone out except Bofur when Nori refused to lay down without the miner at his side. Hours later Oin came out, his face grave, to find the hallway lined with dwarrow, all looking at him anxiously._

_“Despite the scarring and damage over the years, Master Nori was carrying. He has lost another babe. The chances for him to ever carry again are even less now. It is unlikely he will ever bear.”_

_“Can we see him?” Dori asked quietly, subdued._

_They all recalled the shouting match the brothers had engaged in when Dori first confronted Nori about his adultery the day after the trial. They had also been in the healing wing as Oin had rebroken and properly set the thief’s fingers and tended to the damage his husband had so recently done. Dori was insistent that it was Nori’s fault then until the younger had shouted at him of the first babe he’d lost and the cause of losing it. Dori hadn’t known, and neither had Ori._

_“He’s been sedated,” Oin admitted quietly. “Master Nori was hysterical over the loss and there’s too much damage to risk him accidentally causing more harm to himself. Bofur is the only one allowed to stay with him for now until he wakes. We shall see how he is then before I allow any other visitors. There’s no knowing if he will recover from this.”_

But Nori was recovering. It was slow and it was painful for everyone involved in his life, but it was happening. Thorin had waited two months for Nori to recover as much as he could before he called the meeting to help the rest of his people’s bearers. Nori was instrumental in Thorin knowing what words would get results from the bearers, what to expect when they did begin to come forward, and Thorin refused to have him miss the final sentence being carried out for those bearers whom found comfort as he had.

Bofur’s hat was the first thing to be seen and noticed by the assembled bearers and it brought several of them close to the stage, watching the shadowy forms intently. When the miner was distinguishable enough, there were gasps through the crowd and Thorin saw hope crossing many of their faces. Then, Nori was seen and there were calls of the thief’s name in wonder and happiness. His hair was plaited back into a simple braid with how much time he spent abed regaining his strength and to hide most of the bald patches Oin discovered from where handfuls of his hair were torn out.

“The only fitting punishment the Council could find for the crime many of you have admitted to, is to make you all widows. Each of you will receive your spouse’s holdings should you wish for them. Any whom wish, may ask for assistance until you are back on your feet again, able to care for yourselves. As widows, you also have the choice to remarry after a month, a choice which is entirely your own, not a father’s, or brother’s, or any other male relative’s, but your own. If you face opposition in that, find a member of the City Guard. They will get you away to somewhere safe until the Council is notified and can step in. For those of you not yet married,” Thorin paused and looked directly at the too young dam before him heavy with child, “I will personally see to it you are kept safe and cared for until you come of age to marry at your leisure. If there are others you know of, others whom could not be here for whatever reason today, let Dwalin, Captain of the City Guard know and he will ensure they are safe and cared for before their husband’s or intendeds learn of what has happened here this day. The dwarrow whom have harmed you shall be at least shaved and cast out, banished on pain of death from any kingdom holding Durin’s folk. If any of them have caused a death, please, let us know and they shall be punished for the murder. No longer will such harm be ignored by the courts or left unpunished.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are appreciated. Flames will be fed to the dragons in my bed. See chapter 1 for disclaimer.


End file.
